What with the Southern California winter upon us, where the temperatures can be in the bone-chilling 60s or 50s, (yes, we are all sissies here) I like a hot drink. But no caffeine please, so with Postum no longer available, I am trying such barley-based beverages as:

Roobis tea is my favorite. No caffine. Not fake roobis made in Jamica or some such but the stuff from south africa.Loose tea and hanging a mesh container in a hot pot is the way to go(which I am doing at this moment.

For those that may like caffine(which I also do)...a substitute for coffee is mate. Unsmoked, smoked has carcoginians.Loose is again the best. A cup which I just finished, as well....

"This order considers that progress can be achieved more rapidly during a single month of self-transformation through terrifying conditions in rough terrain and in "the abode of harmful forces" than through meditating for a period of three years in towns and monasteries"....Takpo Tashi Namgyal.

"All memories and thoughts are the union of emptiness and knowing, the Mind.Without attachment, self-liberating, like a snake in a knot.Through the qualities of meditating in that way,Mental obscurations are purified and the dharmakaya is attained."

ronnewmexico wrote:Roobis tea is my favorite. No caffine. Not fake roobis made in Jamica or some such but the stuff from south africa.Loose tea and hanging a mesh container in a hot pot is the way to go(which I am doing at this moment.

For those that may like caffine(which I also do)...a substitute for coffee is mate. Unsmoked, smoked has carcoginians.Loose is again the best. A cup which I just finished, as well....

I tried yerbe mate a few years back; at first I liked it, it seemed to brighten my mind. But after a week or two, it made me feel too odd in the head, so I dropped it.

Basically, there is not even one buddha, only great wisdom. Bodhisattva Hsuan Hua

Mate is used by many when for one reason or another(perhaps ulcer) they want to wean themselves from coffee.It does contain significant caffine so if one is sensitive to caffine one will be affected.Some people are sensitive to caffine in unexpected ways.At least one person I know and probably two has panic attacks as a direct consequence of caffine.If one drank coffee regularly one perhaps would not know this as cause.This person I was with at the time did not see or know of the relationship but it appeared obvious to me at the time(it pretty soon occured after a strong coffee) Another family member of theirs seems to have the same problem so perhaps there is a genetic influence.No coffee seems to solve the problem in both cases,and this was years ago.

"This order considers that progress can be achieved more rapidly during a single month of self-transformation through terrifying conditions in rough terrain and in "the abode of harmful forces" than through meditating for a period of three years in towns and monasteries"....Takpo Tashi Namgyal.

Milo and Horlicks are malt based, tend towards being sweet and are normally dissolved in hot milk. They taste has more in common with hot choclate than coffee. They are mighty tasty though and a nice winter drink.

You can boil liquorice bark. Makes a powerful concoction nice with honey.

Heard of Milo or Horlicks?

What do Milo, Horlicks & straight chicory taste like - coffeeish or ???

So you don't want to drink caffeine but you can't quite go cold turkey on coffee 'cause its got that 'real' taste nothing else gives. I tell you now - there's nothing else. The problem is secularism. Coffee is secular fanaticism. Its a drug. We're fascinated with it. Zen approach doesn't work. You stop drinking the stuff, create a Zen garden, but then it just fills up with weeds. So don't kid yourself. Nothing wrong with coffee now and then. Or a pie, a steak, McDonalds whatever. Its this culture of trying to find a kill-all solution - one ring to rule them all. You believe in a goal, an end. There's no end, just cycles repeating. You actually think there's a way out of coffee, or a karma free life. HA! You get rid of lesser passions and the biggest one just gets bigger. That's demonic. You know what they do with bacteria - they pit them against each other. The smaller ones with the bigger ones. They recreate the food-chain, the ecosystem. Everyone has their place. You take one species out and the whole thing tumbles down. I'll touch a Brahmin any day. Even the bad is good. So let Milo and coffee live side by side. Alternate days. Then you add chicory. Then horlicks, some tea, and why not green. Its not Zen see. But at the end of it there's just no space for the weeds to grow. Its a balanced diet. But maybe you don't like perceptions of diversity. They irritate you. Fine, its not the dots themselves. You're just looking too close. Too focused. See the wave, the natural order. Order in chaos - without YOU. Or does that scare you? Every corporate's nightmare, these self-organizing teams. See the wave and that's compassion. The seeing is the compassion. And you let go - it just happens. Things take care of themselves, and that's wisdom.

People will know nothing and everythingRemember nothing and everythingThink nothing and everythingDo nothing and everything- Machig Labdron

I really like coffee. I really like the taste of good coffee and the energy burst. BUT coffee screws up my stomach, wrenches my intestine, drives my kidneys insane, stimulates my liver and racks my nerves.

Some people just should not drink coffee for health reasons, it's that simple.

I HATE coffee substitutes, they taste NOTHING like coffee, so I put together a 70% decaf 30% coffee mix for myself with plenty of milk and thus am satisified without all the negative side effects. But for some people even that is not an option, for some people balance is achieved by avoiding coffee totally.

Last edited by Grigoris on Sun Nov 27, 2011 11:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

maybay: Thanks for the sermon, but taste is only part of it. Caffeine hurts my heart & blood pressure. Since this body is elderly I prefer to avoid those things that will shorten my life & thus end opportunities to add some merit.

Basically, there is not even one buddha, only great wisdom. Bodhisattva Hsuan Hua

New agey organic coffee with no caffine which being newagey and all I assume is healthy(I don't buy it as I can use caffeine)...Mount Hagen Organic cafe. It is freeze dried. The regular stuff taste great in latte to my opinion. I do use that. Packed in germany. Probably available on line.

Must be good...where I shop they seem to sell about ten of the decafs to one of the caffines. Sometimes not even bothering to stock the regulars. Comes in a 100Gram bottle,,,but is of course quite expensive...ten dollars or so(perhaps a bit less if one shops around 8 or so) for that little bottle.

"This order considers that progress can be achieved more rapidly during a single month of self-transformation through terrifying conditions in rough terrain and in "the abode of harmful forces" than through meditating for a period of three years in towns and monasteries"....Takpo Tashi Namgyal.

You still think you're not addicted? at this late stage of the game you're gonna revolt against what's been sustaining you all this time. Com'onnnnn! Probably do more damage to stop.I tell you, no one is ever happy with their body.

People will know nothing and everythingRemember nothing and everythingThink nothing and everythingDo nothing and everything- Machig Labdron